Business Credit articles from January 2004

Business Credit archives from January 2004

Classic bust-out scam.(the scoop)
January 1, 2004... While spectacular corporate frauds producing the bankruptcies of companies like Enron and WorldCom grab headlines, a garden-variety business scam, the "bust-out," has been wreaking havoc for years at businesses without the resources--or...

108!(the scoop)
January 1, 2004... One Hundred Eight years..... that's how long NACM has been working for you to promote good laws for sound credit, protect businesses against fraudulent debtors, improve the interchange of credit information, develop better credit practices and...

Tools of the trade for credit professionals continue to evolve.(the scoop)
January 1, 2004... From the abacus to spreadsheets to enterprise resource planning software, the tools of the trade for accounting professionals continue to evolve. And with advancements in software and hardware, these changes are taking place more rapidly than...

Knowledge of accounting, finance and IT in demand for credit professionals.(the scoop)
January 1, 2004... In a recent Robert Half International survey, chief financial officers said that other than knowledge of accounting and finance, information technology (IT) skills were most in demand for today's accounting professionals. Accountants are...

The collection process.(the scoop)
January 1, 2004... Collection of past-due accounts is an important function of a credit department. The Manual of Credit and Commercial Laws advises financial professionals about the component elements of collections to help avoid errors and omissions in the...

NACM calendar.(Calendar)
January 1, 2004... JANUARY January 12 Teleconference: Standby Letters of Credit Presenter: Buddy Baker, ABN AMRO Bank January 12-March 19 NACM Online Accounting Course January 12-March 19 NACM Online Business Law Course ...

Meet Pam Foreman, CCE: Mission Janitorial Supplies, San Diego, CA.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... Like many people who end up working in the credit field Pam Foreman did not make it a career goal. She started out taking Liberal Arts classes in college, with the goal of eventually teaching. However, after getting married, she obtained a...

A leader in the giftware industry partners with Experian and achieves a distinct competitive advantage.
January 1, 2004... Client Among the largest privately owned and operated firms in the giftware industry, Roman, Inc. is a leading producer and exclusive distributor of more than 15,000 giftware items. The company's mission is to be the leader in the...

More organizations detecting fraud, spurred by new regulations, investor demands.(Communique)
January 1, 2004... Spurred by new government regulations and demands by investors, more companies today are working to uncover fraud, finding it, and taking action against those who commit fraud, according to a new survey by KPMG LLP. The KPMG survey showed that...

PACA trust survives e-mail exchange extending payment terms.(Credit Column)
January 1, 2004... Introduction The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act ("PACA") is a federal statute that has created special protections for sellers of perishable agricultural commodities. An unpaid seller of perishable agricultural commodities that...

Is your credit department the best it can be?
January 1, 2004... Ask any credit pro about "Best Practice Guidelines" and chances are the subject of industry conventions will soon be broached. It almost goes without saying that trade receivables management is a surprisingly diverse endeavor. A credit manager...

Collecting and managing exemption certificates.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... Question: Whose job is it to collect sales tax exemption certificates? Intuitively, the tax department should get that job; however, according to industry polls, over 75 percent of companies say the responsibility falls on the credit...

Credit Congress & Expo 2004: the annual event for business credit professionals.
January 1, 2004... May 16-19, 2004 Phoenix Civic Plaza Phoenix, Arizona The 108 annual Credit Congress & Exposition, hosted by the National Association of Credit Management, is the event for the business credit and financial professional. No other industry...

What exactly is a best practice?
January 1, 2004... A Best Practice is strictly defined as a methodology or approach that consistently--almost always--delivers improved performance. The performance improvement needs to be clearly defined and measurable to meet these criteria. For a tightly...

Best practices and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... CRM is a concept that represents the convergence of two somewhat independent thonghts. The idea of treating customers as individuals having unique needs has been attributed to the work of Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, authors of the 1 to 1...

Looking for a better relationship? Four easy steps to improve the sales perception.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... Having a reliable credit presence on a sales floor can help in maintaining a good ,and sound relationship between two often-conflicting departments. Moreover, having a credit "go-to" person present at critical moments can often accelerate and...

There's more than one way to beat a preference action: be alert for technical flaws.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... A major victory has recently been won by 25 credit grantors who ere named as defendants in preference actions in the American Pad and Paper case pending in Delaware. As is typical in a large case, hundreds of adversary proceedings to recover...

Using benchmarking metrics to uncover best practices.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... For companies, embracing change means seeking out and adopting best practices. Benchmarking-the research and analysis of quantitative, empirical data--is a way to isolate weaknesses and strengths and to make connections between best practices...

Lean working capital management: embedding best practices for revenue maximization and profit optimization.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... Lean Working Capital[TM] management is the practice of applying best practices to ensure that you prevent revenue leakage, increase velocity and reduce costs. This focus is designed to increase cash flow, reduce bad debt, and decrease costs...

European mergers and acquisitions.(International Section)
January 1, 2004... Signs that merger and acquisition activity has resumed after a long slump will be borne out in the coming months. In both Europe and the United States, merger activity ticked up toward the end of 2003, with Europe still leading both the number...

Hot spots: South Korea.(International Section)
January 1, 2004... The recession is over, but a sustained expansion is not yet assured. The economy returned to growth in the third quarter of 2003, after two negative quarters that marked Korea's first serious downturn since the Asian crisis of 1997-1998. Real...

At a glance: worldwide credit conditions.(International Section)
January 1, 2004... CREDIT BRIEFINGS MEXICO STALLS. Mexican real GDP growth rose a negligible 0.4% in the third quarter of 2003, below market expectations. Manufacturing, which contracted by 3.6% in the third quarter on a year-ago basis, was the biggest drag...

Technology and outsourcing: asking the right questions.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... As the availability of technology continues to grow in this industry, the collection part of the process becomes relatively minor in the face of the myriad of alternatives that exist from a technology perspective. This is particularly true when...

Working with banks as a government contractor.(Government Group)
January 1, 2004... Learn What Information the Bank Requires Different banks require different sets of data, and that data often varies with the business in which the company is engaged, It is necessary, therefore, to understand completely the requirements....

Credit management: principles and practices.(Selected Topic)
January 1, 2004... Shine the Spotlight on Credit Management: Credit Analysis Really Is Cool At a recent gathering of corporate credit managers I mentioned that I was finalizing the third edition of a book that I have authored titled Credit Management:...

Ideas for extending credit to a new business.(Credit Basics)
January 1, 2004... From time to time, credit professionals will receive a credit application from a newly formed company. In some cases, the company in question is well financed, the owners or senior managers have a wealth of experience in the industry and, as a...

The top twelve e-mail mistakes that can sabotage your career.(Credit Column)
January 1, 2004... You return to your office from an afternoon meeting and decide to check e-mail. An hour later, having downloaded your messages, selecting those you should read, deleting the ones that look like junk, crafting replies to the most important ones,...